The Price of Threatening My Niece
“Now do you believe me?”
Eunha’s legs nearly gave out beneath her.
Logically, it was impossible. Yet it had happened right before her eyes.
“For the record, I was already an S-class psychic before I ever went to the Demon Realm.”
She could no longer tell whether she should believe him or if she had simply fallen into some vast hallucination.
This is insane. But if…
Eunha bit down hard on her lip. In truth, she stood at the edge of a cliff. From within, she was battered by corrupt bureaucrats. From without, she was being stripped bare by the great powers’ guilds.
Even the president had grown weak, leaving her utterly alone. Having family might have eased the burden—yet she had none. And now, suddenly, she did. Not ordinary family, either.
If this man truly is my uncle…
If this overwhelming power stood on her side, then in this hellish reality she would finally have a single, unshakable pillar to lean on.
That was when it happened.
BOOM!
A roar so violent it shook even the soundproof walls of the office. Secretary Min Sehee burst in, face drained of color.
“Minister! We’re in serious trouble!”
Shouts carried clearly from the corridor behind her.
“They’re here to protest the deaths of the Chinese Black Dragon Guild hunters at yesterday’s Yeoncheon Dungeon Impact site.”
“What?”
“Embassy personnel and Black Dragon’s senior hunters are forcing their way in without any restraint!”
“Those bastards who ran wild on our soil without a shred of justification are here to protest?”
Eunha clenched her teeth. She had already received the report on yesterday’s events. The ones who had swaggered freely through another nation’s territory were them.
What brazen hypocrisy!
But diplomatic friction was fatal. Korea was clearly the weaker party—and the Dungeon Era had only made it worse. Now embassy staff and Black Dragon Guild hunters had banded together and stormed all the way to the minister’s office.
Yeoncheon… that was yesterday’s site.
CRASH! The door flew open. Chinese embassy staff in black suits. Black Dragon Guild hunters clad in crimson armor.
“Minister Kang! There you are! We demand an explanation for yesterday’s—”
“Hah! That’s him!”
Among them stood Wang Lian.
“Hunter Wang, what are you saying?”
“That’s the bastard! The one who massacred our men in Yeoncheon!”
“What?!”
“So you were in on it together. You deliberately slaughtered Chinese hunters!”
Hanul rose from the sofa.
“You’re noisy.”
His gaze swept over them. The Black Dragon hunters instinctively gripped their weapons.
“You insolent dog! You dare use force in front of embassy personnel?!”
An embassy counselor jabbed a finger and bellowed. Behind him the Black Dragon hunters unleashed their power—mana, internal energy, everything they possessed.
Thrummm—
The office furniture rattled under the colliding forces.
“Minister Kang! Arrest this murderer at once and hand him over to China! Otherwise we will not hesitate to go to war!”
Emboldened, the Chinese counselor roared. Eunha’s face turned ashen. A mere counselor speaking of war? This was no ordinary threat.
He’s riding the Black Dragon Guild’s coattails and holds considerable discretionary power.
It would not escalate to full-scale national war. But after North Korea’s collapse the northern Korean Peninsula remained chaotic, and that chaos bled into northern Gyeonggi Province. Depending on what the Black Dragon Guild chose to do, localized clashes were entirely possible.
And with dungeon rights at stake, they’ve been waiting for any pretext…
“You dare threaten my niece?”
A mocking voice cut through. Hanul. A sneer on his lips, he took a single step. The marble floor cracked beneath him like a spiderweb.
“Over a few bugs I stepped on, no less.”
In that instant black demonic energy exploded from Hanul’s entire body.
Astral Break
Black magic spell that interferes with the mental plane
Absolute, crushing pressure filled the space—though it carefully spared his niece Kang Eunha and her secretary Min Sehee.
“Ghk…!”
The Chinese counselor choked. It felt as if someone had seized his heart in a fist. The Black Dragon hunters fared no better.
Thud— Clatter—
They slammed face-first to the floor, weapons still in hand. Gravity itself seemed to have collapsed. Terror forced them to their knees.
“H-hiiik!”
Wang Lian foamed at the mouth, trembling as if his mind had shattered. Hanul flicked a finger.
Black Lightning Chain
Crackle—!
Black lightning raced through the entire corridor, shredding their mental networks.
“How shall I kill you?”
The voice sounded almost affectionate. Yet the murderous intent within it slammed straight into their minds. The Chinese men’s eyes rolled back. Left alone they would foam and collapse.
“S-stop! Are you trying to kill them?!”
“Of course.”
“You can’t! If they die here—on Korean soil—it’ll be a disaster!”
Eunha cried out urgently. If the embassy staff were massacred here, it truly would be the end.
“Please stop… Uncle Hanul.”
The word “uncle” made Hanul look at her. The madness in his eyes receded a fraction.
“You’re calling me uncle?”
“For now… yes. So please let them go.”
He flicked his hand and released the black magic.
“Guh-haaack…”
“Haaahk…”
“You’d better remember whose mercy let you live.”
The counselor braced a trembling hand against the floor.
“Th-this…!”
Gasping for life, yet still clinging to his pathetic pride.
“The Republic of Korea will pay for this! This is clear terrorism!”
He ground his teeth and shouted. His words were fierce—yet his body was already turning toward the exit, trousers shamefully soaked.
“We will file a formal protest! The international community will not stand for this!”
The Black Dragon hunters could not even think of retrieving their weapons. Wang Lian was half-dragged out by his comrades.
“L-let’s go!”
“We have to get out of here first!”
“We’ll make you… we’ll make you pay for this!”
BANG!
Only after the door slammed shut did silence return. Kang Eunha pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a long breath.
“How did things end up like this…”
“Want me to dig those runaways out by the roots?”
Eunha shook her head in horror.
“No. Don’t do anything more. If we get officially entangled any further, we truly won’t be able to handle it.”
“Officially, you say. Heh. Fine. If that’s my niece’s wish.”
Hanul shrugged. The killing intent drained from his eyes, leaving them languid once more. He dropped into an empty chair and regarded Eunha.
“So, what is it you want to do?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m curious. My niece is a government minister—youngest ever, no less. Do you have some kind of ambition?”
Eunha fell silent for a moment. Beyond the window stretched Seoul’s forest of buildings. Behind that glitter lay the great powers’ plunder, traitors selling off national interests, a rotting system.
“I simply want this country free from foreign coercion. I want our people free from exploitation, able to live ordinary, decent lives.”
Modest words—yet the hardest dream of all in present-day Korea. A smile touched Hanul’s lips.
“It will happen. This uncle will support his niece’s dream.”
“…I did call you uncle earlier, but honestly it’s still a bit sudden.”
“Is that so? Coming from you now, that stings a little.”
“I need time to prepare myself as well. Since you remade your body, a genetic test won’t work, but other verification procedures… something like that is necessary.”
“Understood. I’ll wait.”
Hanul stood.
“I’ll arrange lodging for you. Stay there for the time being.”
“Thank you.”
After leaving the Dungeon Management Department building, Hanul went to the hotel Min Sehee had booked for him.
From the hotel rooftop he leapt toward the ground. His stride never faltered.
A short while later the Chinese embassy building rose before him.
This body still isn’t fully matured. It needs to grow further if it’s going to withstand even a fragment of my spirit.
Hanul’s mental power was a vast thing steeped in the Demon Realm’s energy. Released unchecked, it might drive all of Earth’s humanity mad.
He suppressed and suppressed again, compressing the enormous mana with needle-eye precision.
Crackle— Crackle—
The ambient mana screamed as it was forced into a single point.
“Anyone who treats my niece carelessly has to pay the price. Unofficially, of course.”
KRAAAAAAASH—!
A sudden mana storm tore through the clear sky. Violet lightning savagely raked the embassy roof.
“H-hiiik! What is this?!”
“Ugh, what the hell?! Is it a Dungeon Impact?! Evacuate!”
The street filled with screams. Passersby, convinced a Dungeon Impact had opened, fled in panic.
Hanul casually waved a hand. A precisely controlled membrane of mana sealed the area around the embassy, isolating the space so no innocent civilians would be caught up.
Then he stretched a thread of his spirit across dimensions, far into the Demon Realm. The Demon Realm’s energy rode his will and touched the earth.
—Hey, you lot. Can you hear me?
Telepathic magic reached his subordinates in the Demon Realm.
“Ohh, O Great Demon God!”
“At last we hear that chilling voice once more.”
“Khah! We’ve been waiting! Whose guts do we get to rip out?!”
The wills of his seven Archdemon subordinates answered him in turn.
“Who would be good…”
Hanul considered briefly. Someone too strong might shake Earth’s very core. Mid-tier terror would suffice.
“Hatchery. Send some of your underlings.”
“As you command! May… may I descend as well?”
“Permission granted.”
RUMBLE—!
A massive violet portal tore open above the Chinese embassy garden. Terrifying demonic energy poured down like a waterfall. Heavy footsteps echoed from beyond.
Thud— Thud—!
What came pouring through the portal were demon soldiers. Hulking figures over two meters tall, each bearing the grotesque head of a black goat, every one gripping a jet-black steel spear.
“Meeeeeh—!”
Then the space warped once more. At the heart of the violet demonic energy a young girl stepped forth. Pale skin, an ornate gothic dress—Hatchery, the Archdemon of Greed.
“I have answered your call, my Master.”
Hatchery gracefully gathered her skirts and curtsied. Behind her, bipedal goat demons continued to pour through the portal without end.
“Hatchery. Inside that building are the ones I marked with my mana. Can you feel them?”
“Of course, Master.”
“Handle them.”